It's actually the biggest study on indigenous pregnant women in the world.

From the outside it looks like a warehouse; on the inside you find an ultrasound clinic, a veggie garden, kitchen, crèche and art studio.

It's a project by the University of Newcastle called Gomeroi Gaaynggal, and brings together the unlikely marriage of art and research into a new model for healthier Aboriginal mums.

"Every Tuesday we have mums and bubs come down and they do art work. And we've got health professionals come in to talk about health related issues," said medical coordinator Loretta Weatherall.

"We get them to sit and paint with the mums. So it's very informal, which makes the mums more at ease and allows them to take the information in."

In Deadly Business we've learnt that the prolific incidence of chronic illness in Aboriginal people starts with poor maternal health.

But getting mums-to-be to engage with conventional antenatal care is a major challenge.

Gomeroi Gaaynggal has 150 mums attending.

They get regular blood tests and ultrasounds which are shared with researchers studying foetal kidney growth, high blood pressure and premature birth.

The program is clearly showing artwork and happier mums, but will it deliver healthier babies?

"All our data is at the statisticians at the moment, but I'm certainly seeing young mums that are engaging very much with their health, when in the past I can't imagine that happening," said centre coordinator Dr Kym Rae from the University of Newcastle.

"A lot of it at the moment is anecdotal, but we will have the evidence soon to show that we are making changes."